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5 Best Soccer Goalie Gloves Available in The Market in 2018

The most important piece of gear a goalkeeper needs is gloves and choosing the best soccer goalie gloves is a difficult task. An ideal glove would wrap the hand and fingers perfectly whilst provide ample shot stopping protection with strong, sticky grip in a highly durable, lightweight package. Unfortunately, all of these features are difficult to combine in a single package and as such, some of these needs to be compromised to achieve another feature.

For instance, lightweight gloves are not always the most durable. Not only do lightweight gloves make sacrifices on durability but also they can offer sacrifice some protection, arguably the most important aspect of best soccer goalie gloves.

This tricky balance is difficult to find in a market flooded with products so we have created a list of some of the best soccer goalkeeping gloves.

The Adidas Ace Zones Pro is a glove specifically designed with Manuel Neuer in mind with the German goalkeeper having extensive input into its design and creation. The glove uses different zones for superb grip and protection.

The Puma evoPOWER Protect 1 is the glove worn by Italy’s own legend Gianluigi Buffon. The German sportswear company has engineered a glove that meets every situation a goalkeeper will come across.

The glove provides finger spines in order to protect a player’s fingers from a blistering shot. The grip is fantastic and the gloves perform well but suffer from poor durability.

The Adidas Ace Zones Ultimate Gloves are a premium glove with maximum features at a terrific balance. High caliber keepers like David de Gea and Petr Cech wear these Adidas gloves. The glove sports fingertip protection, durable, tacky latex, and a secure, tight fit.

The fingertip protection is removable and flexible while the glove sports a superb palm base for excellent grip. The glove also has a customizable wrist-strapping device so it can adapt to any fit necessary.

The Nike GK Premier SGT glove is based on Nike’s premier laser grip technology. American superstar Tim Howard sports these advanced, protective gloves that offer some of the best grips in the game.

Besides the grip, the glove uses high-quality latex that is excellent for shot stopping. The glove suffers from lessened durability due to the laser cut outs.

The Nike Vapor Grip 3 is a premier glove from Nike that tries to provide a lightweight, grippy glove without sacrificing too much durability or protection and is worn by Belgian giant Thibaut Courtois. The glove succeeds in being a lightweight, breathable option and the padding provides great protection and support.

The grip is where the glove stands out. The lightweight makes it feel like nothing is on your hands and the breathability makes them tolerable for long training sessions.

Review of Best Soccer Goalie Gloves in 2018

Adidas Ace Zones Ultimate Goalie Gloves

The Adidas Ace Zones Ultimate glove is an exceptional goalkeeping glove. Many of the same features remain from the Ace Zones Pro but the gloves come with more customization.

The fit is still fantastic. The bandage closure wraps the wrist securely and tightly while also providing a customizable fit for those with smaller or larger hands. The glove is extremely comfortable and flexible and the materials used conform to the shape of your hand. The latex used is top notch and nothing is sacrificed in the name of weight.

The latex is cut in a way reminiscent of a roll finger cut which means the glove is designed to give maximum contact on the ball at all times. This, coupled with the grip, make it an outstanding glove.

The backhands sport a fantastic latex that makes it a dream to punch away fizzing shots with. The rubberized elements give the glove a unique aesthetic that is sure to stand out.

Possibly the best feature of this glove is the supreme customization. The glove sports removable Fingersaves and removable wrist support. Adidas started it all with their high tech Fingersave technology and the spines in this glove perform extremely well and live up to the famed Adidas name in goalkeeper gear. The spines are easily removed from the glove so if you prefer to play without, you can still experience the amazing grip and shot stopping power of this glove. The wrist support is equally as impressive. Few gloves on the market offer this kind of support so it may be uncomfortable for some. Adidas makes this easily removable, but when inserted, it gives the glove excellent support and does not harm the fit either.

The Fingersaves can be prone to sliding around inside the fingers but can be easily fixed by straightening them out. Even with this negative, these gloves are some of the best soccer goalie gloves on the market.

What We Like

What We Don’t Like

Adidas Ace Zones Pro Soccer Goalkeeper Gloves

One of the hottest gloves on the market, the Ace Zones Pro is a top-notch piece of gear from German giant Adidas. The exceptional build of the glove makes it an extremely durable and quality piece of equipment.

The glove is known for its liberally padded front and backhand surfaces. The latex used on the backhand is unique as most gloves skimp on backhand protection to make gloves lighter weight. The padding on the back is re-inforced with rubberized, octagonal grips that are centered with a raised dot. This protects your knuckles even further and gives the glove a good punch when you are unable to catch the ball.

The closure on the glove comes in the form of a bandage style wrist strap. The negative, seamless cuts make it a form fitting love that wraps your hand perfectly. Even with the rubberized elements on the fingers and backhand, the glove is flexible and conforms to the shape of your hand for an excellent fit. This fit also makes the glove quite comfortable, even with the breathable mesh gussets being replaced with latex.

The compound latex used also provides an amazing amount of grip without sacrificing shot stopping power. On the corner of the plan is an abrasion zone that uses a compound that is extremely durable and tough. The glove can slide on the ground during low dives and not get a scratch and the zone will keep the gloves going all season.

What We Don’t Like

Nike GK Vapor Grip 3

The Nike Vapor Grip 3 is fantastic glove from the American sports giant that is dedicated to providing excellent grip on the ball while staying as light as possible. They are certainly a viable option for the best soccer goalie gloves. The Vapor name is sported on some of the world’s lightest cleats and these gloves are no different.

The lightweight is achieved through strategic mesh panelling placed throughout the glove. The thumb, index, and pinky are all round cut latex fingers but the two middle fingers are flat cut latex. This flat cut allows for a mesh to be placed for breathability and to cut back on weight. Mesh also extends below the middle of the back of the hand and to the knuckle of the thumb, again saving weight.

These weight saving measures make the Vapor Grip 3 extremely flexible and comfortable. The breathability makes it easy to use for long training sessions and the flexibility allows your hands to stretch for that ball and wrap it up in your palms.

The grip complements the flexibility of the glove very nicely. The exceptional grip makes wrapping the ball up very easy and here gloves are a joy to play in.

Even with all the lightweight materials, the Vapor Grip 3 still has plenty of shot stopping power. The latex used is thick and makes stopping those intense shots a breeze.

The only problem is the wrist strap. While the fit is wonderfully tight, the closure only goes around once and does not instill security or confidence. The strap works fine but other top notch gloves have better straps.

What We Like

What We Don’t Like

PUMA evoPOWER Protect 1

The evoPOWER Protect 1 is a top of the line glove from Puma. The glove is designed to provide maximum protection and grip as evidenced by its palm cutouts and thick contact latex.

The cut outs in the palm are more than just for aesthetics. They provide a tacky grip on the ball that makes catching and securing high power shots easy. This grip instills confidence in you as you move to stop those well-placed efforts from attackers.

The padding is also quite fantastic and a standout feature of this glove. The thick contact latex is Puma’s best compound and provides excellent shot stopping power that extends throughout the backhand. The padding covers the back of the fingers and thumb, leaving no areas prone to danger. The glove spares nothing in the name of weight but the protection makes up for its slight heaviness.

The spines included in the glove are phenomenal and are secured inside with a high-quality zip enclosure. The spines are extremely flexible and move with the knuckles of the finger. The heavy duty plastic spines are designed to mimic joints and move very easily with the natural movement of the hand. The thumb also has an extensive Y-shaped spine that protects all of the ligaments connecting the thumb to the hand.

The build of the glove and material used make it an extremely comfortable fit and evidences Puma’s labelling as the Protect 1 as their top notch glove.

What We Like

What We Don’t Like

Nike GK Premier SGT

The Nike Premier SGT is a top-notch glove from Nike that is designed to make it easy as possible to catch and hold zipping shots throughout an intense game.

The standout feature here is the laser etchings throughout that provide excellent, outstanding grip. There are tactile nodes inside the glove that make it easy for your fingers to pinpoint inside the glove where best to hold and secure the ball. Another unique feature of this glove is the cut. The glove is shaped in such in a way that forces your hand to always be in catching position. This again makes it easy to grip the ball, just like the flat cut fingers.

The contact foam used is of a great thickness and has wonderful shot stopping power. It is Nike’s most advanced foam that combines grip and tremendous padding to make a fantastic glove. The glove also has a fair amount of mesh on the back of the thumb and in between the flat finger cuts. This gives the glove a lightweight, especially considering its array of features, and makes a true top of the line offering from Nike. The glove is also extremely comfortable on and off the ball and is very fun to play in.

The fit is nice and snug but the wrist strap and closure leave a bit to be desired. Other top-notch gloves offer more customization in wrist straps and Nike should be no different.

What We Like

Excellent Grip

Light with Shot Stopping Power

What We Don’t Like

Wrist Strap is Poor Compared to other Elite Gloves

Conclusion

We would like to suggest the Adidas Ace Zones Ultimate Goalkeeper Glove as the best value and all-around performer on the market. The glove combines excellent customization with a fit, protection, and grip in a durable, high-performing package.

The strap can be wrapped around as much or as little as possible and gives the glove a unique fit. The grip on the glove is fantastic and the latex compound used is Adidas’s best. The roll fingers give it, even more, grip and rubberized elements provide extra durability in high wear areas.

The Fingersaves and wrist support are also wonderfully unique and provide support and protection where you need it most but are easily removed if you prefer not to play with them.

They are not the lightest weight but they are easily the best soccer goalie gloves in this entire list.